Orlando Advances, Ousting Cavaliers

ORLANDO, Fla. — The audience excitement at Amway Arena reached its collective peak as Hedo Turkoglu bounced the ball at midcourt before delivering it to a deserving Dwight Howard. Each dribble dwindled coinciding timelines — the Orlando Magic’s first N.B.A. finals appearance since 1995 and LeBron James’s postseason exit.

For James, it was the same long, empty walk he had made in each of his previous five N.B.A. seasons that ended without a championship. Blue and silver confetti sprinkled from the rafters and landed at James’s feet, and a crowd that had been cheering all evening started its celebration in earnest.

The Cavaliers’ postseason hopes went up in talc, shoved aside by the towering play of Howard and buried under a barrage of 3-point shots in a 103-90 victory by the Magic on Saturday night in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Photo

Dwight Howard scored 40 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Orlando to its first N.B.A. finals since 1995.Credit
Doug Benc/Getty Images

Orlando never trailed and won the series, 4-2, an advantage that appears misleading for how close the series turned on James’s dramatics. The Magic travels to play the Los Angeles Lakers — against whom it held a 2-0 advantage in the regular season — Thursday in the first game of the N.B.A. finals.

Howard saved his most dominating effort for last, putting forth the most effective outing of his young career. In the post, the trio of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varejao and Ben Wallace spent four quarters caroming off him as if they were similarly charged particles.

Howard scored a career-postseason high 40 points. He went 12 of 16 from the free-throw line and had 14 rebounds. As the number of his slam dunks grew, each appeared to further flatline the Cavaliers, a team that many felt was destined to arrive at the finals.

“I’ve seen Dwight dominate like this, but this was a huge game,” Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy said. “This was to get to the finals and he was incredible.”

As he stepped to the line for two free throws with 3 minutes 53 seconds left that put the Magic ahead, 98-79, the crowd serenaded Howard with chants of M.V.P., while James could only look silently skyward. When Howard’s spinning dunk furthered the gap less than two minutes later, Howard grinned, exhaled and flexed.

When Cleveland collapsed its defense and sank into Howard, he whipped the ball to the eager hands of Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, Mickael Pietrus and Rafer Alston. The foursome made all of the Magic’s 12 3-pointers.

“It seems like they shot 100 percent from the 3 for the entire series,” Cavaliers guard Mo Williams said. “That’s what it felt like. And even when they did miss, they were getting good looks.”

The stroll of solitude seemed tougher to digest for James, his organization and his city. In one six-game series, the Cavaliers’ splendid regular season, in which they recorded an N.B.A.-best 66 wins, gave way to an off-season of suspense.

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Rashard Lewis, challenging a shot by LeBron James, helped limit James to 8-of-20 shooting from the field.Credit
Scott Audette/Reuters

The questions of whether James has a strong enough supporting cast to carve an entire career in Ohio and when Cleveland will receive another professional championship after a drought of 45 years will resurface.

James, who did not address the news media after the game, played splendidly throughout the series, an effort largely built in solidarity. He appeared off-kilter at times Saturday and perhaps the burden finally fell too heavy on his shoulders. He had 25 points, 7 assists and 7 rebounds.

“Our rhythm was never there, and their rhythm and momentum was there the whole game,” Brown said.

Delonte West added 22 points, but too many times throughout the series, James was forced to carry the load.

Without two of his performances — a buzzer-beating 3-point shot in Game 2 and a dazzling fourth quarter in Game 5 — the series would have long been settled.

But even James could not overcome the Magic’s surge. The game’s outcome never seemed in doubt when the Magic shot a scintillating 53.7 percent in the first half and took a 58-40 lead. Howard recorded 21 points in the half, 6 of them on thunderous dunks. As Orlando thrived, it bottled James up in the second quarter for one of the few times in the series. James missed all five of his shots — three field goals and two free throws — during the stretch.

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The Cavaliers began the third quarter in a blur, with 3-pointers from James and Williams and a layup by West in its first 56 seconds, closing the deficit to 59-48.

But Cleveland soon quieted when it needed its strongest play of the season. Courtney Lee responded with a jumper, Howard with three quick baskets and Turkoglu with a 3-point shot.

It is a sequence simple at its core, effective in its execution. Orlando worked the ball inside, then outside. And inside Amway Arena, a crowd that had not seen the Magic secure a postseason series at home this season roared its approval. Outside, the Lakers await in the next step for a team that has taken many already this season.

“I believe in my team,” Howard said. “I believe if we come out every night and play our brand of basketball, we can beat anybody.”

Correction: June 7, 2009

An article in some copies last Sunday about Orlando’s victory over Cleveland to reach the N.B.A. finals referred incorrectly to “oppositely charged particles,” a phrase meant to describe the way opponents bounced off Dwight Howard of the Magic. Such particles attract; they do not repel.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page SP1 of the New York edition with the headline: Howard Unstoppable as Magic Foils James and Reaches Finals. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe